Energy ministers from EU member states asked the European Commission to provide them with new and clear guidelines on how to continue paying for Russian gas deliveries without violating EU sanctions on Russia, at an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Monday 2 May, attended by the Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
Convened by the French Presidency of the EU Council following the decision of the Russian company Gazprom to suspend gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria because of their refusal to pay in roubles, the meeting was mainly aimed at taking stock of possible further actions to strengthen the EU’s preparedness for a gas supply crisis and of the solidarity measures and instruments within the EU that they would like to promote in this context.
However, the ministers also addressed the problem posed by the recent Russian decree requiring “unfriendly countries” to pay for their gas in roubles through the opening of two accounts at Gazprombank (one for payment in euros or dollars and the other for conversion of payments into roubles) as well as the issue of a potential EU embargo on Russian oil (see EUROPE 12943/2).
While the Commission had issued initial guidelines on how companies importing Russian gas should proceed in the future, these have been subject to different interpretations among Member States in recent days, leading to some confusion (see EUROPE 12941/1).
The Commission therefore intends to provide further guidance “in the coming days”, Ms Simson said after the ministers’ meeting, without giving a precise date.
She also said that the Commission had no information at this stage that European companies had already complied with the Russian decree.
For her part, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, insisted on the “unity” and “solidarity” expressed by the ministers during their exchanges.
She promised that the EU countries would “continue to work together, with the Commission and with our operators, for a common approach to payments that is in line with the rules set by the European Union”.
She added: “The Member States have all said that the sanctions must be implemented and that contracts (which) do mention payment in euros must be respected”.
Agreement on gas storage imminent
Ms Pompili also agreed with several ministers that Member States were very close to an agreement (‘general approach’) on the proposed EU regulation to ensure sufficient gas reserves before the next winter (see EUROPE 12940/2).
This agreement is therefore expected to be reached this week or the week after at the level of the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) in order to start interinstitutional negotiations on this dossier on 16 May (provisional date).
Two days later (18 May), the Commission will present the final version of its ‘REPowerEU’ plan (see EUROPE 12906/4), said Ms Simson, adding that new initiatives could be expected by the end of May within the framework of this plan and on the basis of the recent assessment by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER - see EUROPE 12942/8). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)